Read almost any of the Maya's ancient writings and it's clear that numbers played a significant role in their culture—there are few documents that don't contain at least some. As you might ...

Dynastic snakehead emblem glyphs at other sites ... through the use of mythological animals and constellations. When the Spaniards reached the region, the Maya high culture had long since passed ...

In 1832, Rafinesque declared in his newsletter, the Atlantic Journal and Friend of Knowledge, that the dots and bars seen in Maya glyphs (like these at left, from the Dresden Codex) represented ...

glyphs and more. In one section, poisonous insects and animal skulls must be examined. In another, you can piece together broken pottery, or use light shining through Mayan buildings to keep track ...